Trestle Bench Transformed
March 22, 2010
Happy Monday all, hope you had a fantastic weekend ! Last week, you saw the upgrades in the dining room, and one of those changes included this trestle bench that I found on Craigslist a few weeks ago.
The bench was the perfect size to add seating to our dining space and very sturdy too since it is solid wood. However, I wasn’t using any maple tones in the room, so I decided to give it a new look. The bench received a two phase transformation to arrive at two different looks.
Here’s a reminder of the bench ‘Before’:
Here’s the first new look I gave this bench:
And another different style achieved by adding a washable cotton slipcover:
Both versions work well in our dining space, but I like to use the slipcover for spring because it’s light and bright, and mimics the pleat on the chair slipcovers. It also makes my life a heck of a lot easier since I’m not so worried about spills. Stain remover and bleach are two of my very best friends.
Here’s the easy peasy lemon squeezy tale of its transformation.
First, I flipped it upside down and slapped it with a good coat of primer. My fav, my love, my go to makeup artist, Mr. Zinsser.
After the primer was dry, I gave it two coats of ‘Heirloom White’ in latex that I had leftover from this cabinet project. Then I cut 2 inch foam to fit the top and covered it with batting to smooth out the foam’s edges and hold it in place.
Next, I used some leftover suit inspired material from these pillows to cover the bench seat.
I love the finished look of nailhead trim, so I attached that to the edges with a French Nailhead Trim Kit available at Joann’s Fabrics. To apply, I always use pliers to hold the nail steady, and a mallet to drive the nail into the wood.
The trim gives the bench an updated look . . .
. . . and adds such a nice finished detail.
I was terrible not taking pictures of how I made the slipcover, but basically I created the pleats or ruffles out of long strips of fabric and sewed them with my sewing machine.
Then I attached the pleats inside out to a long rectangle of cotton I cut for the bench, then hemmed the corners and the bottom. Again, sorry no photos. It was late – I was tired. I plum forgot.
But here’s the flirty feminine slipcover. Isn’t she sweet ?
Extra seating created with a transformed Craigslist bench !
I heart Craigslist, don’t you ?
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Tags: bench, craigslist, slipcover
I can’t decide which one I like better. Both of the looks are amazing. The slipcover is so flirty but classic at the same time. I loves it Kate.
I’m in love with the ruffly slipcover!
I gave you a Blogger Award today. Just wanted to let you know, your my fav!!
http://littlebignest.blogspot.com/2010/03/blogger-awards.html
WOW! Great redo. I love the nailhead trim. That’s my favorite.
LOVE it!!! Nail heads are a favorite of ours! Check out our site – see the gallery and look for the French bathroom. We used moulding to create wall boxes – applied batting and trimmed with nail heads…the possibilities are ENDLESS!
I love both ways! Fun too, because if you need to wash the slipcover, it looks fabulous without it too. I agree, craigslist is amazing.
What a great makeover. I love how cleverly you have made the slipcover to protect it from spills and inventing two different looks for your bench. I do love Craiglist and I scored big on two Dorothy Draper knockoffs last week as I was inspired by your transformation on your Dorothy Draper.
So glad you posted this. I was telling my husband a few wks ago that I wanted to get a bench for extra seating in our casual dining area. Great job. Oh and I heart Craigslist too :)
amazing. you are really amazing. i wish you were my sister and i could pester you on a regular basis to help me during my projects!
Your soooo very brave to have so much white with little ones. I read your blog often and love all the creative things you do.
This is gorgeous! I love, love, love that trim. How fabulous. Thanks so much for sharing this, I’ll be linking.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your Blog AND all of your ideas! You are one talented girl!!
Come see my blog….I make up my own sayings…and photographs…sometimes
they are kind of corny, but I’m having fun.
Thanks for sharing your talent!
Blessings,
Christine
This is a great blog and your dining room is now an inspiration for mine! Quick question for you: did you make the slipcovers for your dining room chairs? Any chance you have a tutorial?
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Thank you so much for this posting. A month or so ago, I picked up bench from Craigslist too! Let me count the ways I love the “free” column on Craigslist. You would laugh at the many times I have run out the door, minus shoes, racing to the car to get to the latest free listing. Who has time for shoes when a brand new rice cooker goes to “the first person who shows up.” Anyhoo, I still have a bunch of material left over from the makeover of the two dining room chairs and at the moment, that material is nicely folded over the bench. Thanks to this posting, I know exactly what I am going to do — copy your idea completely and without shame. Could you tell me where you bought the trim? I love that finishing touch and want to do the same to my bench. I need another bench for the other side of the table now and wholeheartedly believe that Craigslist will provide.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record on the comment sections of my favorite blogs, I am asking everyone who reads my comment to also go to my latest posting and give me their opinion on a couple of items that are going up for auction on Tuesday. I have really mixed feelings about this couch and would love some comments and ideas. Here’s the link: survey says
What brand of stapler do you use?
I keep stumbling over all kinds of reupholstering projects and just found yours. I’d love to attempt something like this but I’m afraid of the corners! How do you get the fabric to drape so evenly on the corners?? Do you make a cut and sew the ends together or do you just fold carefully over the edges?
[...] hammer is obvious, but the mallet is a great tool for working with delicate nailhead trim and pounding paint cans closed without damaging the metal [...]
Love both looks! I would have trouble figuring out which one I would want to show off more! Great job! Love your blog! I’m your newest follower!!!